Call of Levi-Matthew
10.
As Jesus passed by, whom did He see sitting at a tax booth? What
did Jesus say to him? What response did Levi-Matthew make? Verse 14.
NorE.—"Of the Roman officials in Palestine, none were more hated than
the publicans. The fact that the taxes were imposed by a foreign power was
a continual irritation to the Jews, being a reminder that their independence
had departed. And the taxgatherers were not merely the instruments of Roman
oppression; they were extortioners on their own account, enriching themselves
at the expense of the people. A Jew who accepted this office at the hands of
the Romans was looked upon as betraying the honor of his nation. He was
despised as an apostate, and' was classed•with the vilest of society. To this
class belonged Levi-Matthew, who, after the four disciples at Gennesaret, was
the next to be called to Christ's service."—"The
Desire of Ages,"
p. 272.
11.
After his call, how did Matthew publicly honor Jesus? Luke 5:29.
12.
What complaint did some make to the disciples? Who answered
them? What did Jesus say? Verses 30-32.
Fasting
13.
What question did the disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus?
What was Jesus' reply? What reference did He make to His own mission?
Verses 33-35.
NorE.—"The disciples of John were at this time in great sorrow. It was
before their visit to Jesus with John's message. Their beloved teacher was in
prison, and they passed their days in mourning... . The Pharisees and John's
disciples were fasting when the latter came to Jesus with the inquiry, 'Why
do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but Thy disciples fast not?' Very tenderly
Jesus answered them. He did not try to correct their erroneous conception
of fasting, but only to set them right in regard to His own mission. And He
did this by employing the same figure that the Baptist himself had used in
his testimony to Jesus. John had said, 'He that hath the bride is the bride-
groom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is
fulfilled.' The disciples of John could not fail to recall these words of their
teacher, as, taking up the illustration, Jesus said, 'Can ye make the children
of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?'
"—"The Desire
of Ages,"
pp. 276, 277. (See John 3:29.)
14.
By what parable did Jesus seek to win His hearers from Jewish
traditions to His teachings? Verse 36.
15.
What other parable did He speak with the same purpose? Verses
37-39.
NorE.—The new, undressed, unshrunk cloth would by shrinking tear the
old fabric. The wine bottles were made of the skins of animals. The new
bottles, or skins, would expand with the wine. The old were dry and rigid,
and would crack, or burst. This contains a spiritual lesson for all time. God's
message is a living message. We cannot retain old traditions and errors, and
at the same time receive and hold new life from above.
"The faith that works by love and purifies the soul, could find no place for
union with the religion of the Pharisees, made up of ceremonies and the in-
I 6 )